Pages

2 Jan 2011

THE MONSTERS OF TEMPLETON.

Willie Cooper arrives on the doorstep of her ancestral home in Templeton, New York in the wake of a disastrous affair with her much older, married archeology professor. That same day, the discovery of a prehistoric monster in the lake brings a media frenzy to the quiet, picture-perfect town her ancestors founded. Smarting from a broken heart, Willie then learns that the story her mother had always told her about her father has all been a lie. He wasn't the one-night stand Vi led her to imagine, but someone else entirely.

As Willie puts her archaeological skills to work digging for the truth about her lineage, a chorus of voices from the town's past rise up around her to tell their side of the story. Dark secrets come to light, past and present blur, old mysteries are finally put to rest, and the surprising truth about more than one monster is revealed.
..... From the outer back cover.

FIRST SENTENCE: The day I returned to Templeton steeped in disgrace, the fifty-foot corpse of a monster surfaced in Lake Glimmerglass.

MEMORABLE MOMENT: A man invoked at third-grade sleepovers in the hushed and daring tone used for the devil himself, a man who looked like the devil himself, all horny calluses and shining pickled-looking skin, a crooked-back, hollow cheeked man with eyes set so deep in his sockets no one had ever seen their whites, he who once walked into a cloud of butterflies and made them fall like dropped pennies in his wake .....

I'm sure that most of you will agree that as book bloggers we endeavour to give an honest opinion of the books we read BUT that, at the end of the day, that is all they are - our personal opinions as the stories I love and the characters I hold dear may well be as equally disliked by the next person who happens along the book. Why mention this now? Because my personal dislike of the journal/diary and letter format totally clouds my otherwise enjoyment of this debut novel.

For a start it took me the first 50 or so pages to convince myself that yes, this was a book worth reading - to be honest it was only my stubborn streak and reluctance to give up on a novel that prevented me putting it down and reading something else. However perseverance won and I found myself enjoying certain elements of The Monsters Of Templeton.

The story of mother, Vi, and daughter, Willie, (Wilhelmina Sunshine to give her her full title) was wonderful and very touching as was the relationship between Vi and Willie and Willie's good friend Clarissa who happens to have a chronic illness which I thought the author dealt with wonderfully.

Full of eccentric and yet believable characters many of whom I found myself becoming enchanted with thanks partly to the remarkable, if odd, names they have (*I list some below), I think this novel has more to recommend it character wise than it does plot wise some of which, as the Daily Mail newspaper informs us on the back cover is 'fact' - the rest being 'fiction and myth.'

However, as I mentioned before, marring my overall enjoyment of the book was the journal extracts and the letters - something I personally don't like and generally, as was the case here, find off-putting. Combine this with the interspersed stories of past inhabitants of Templeton and I have to say that, for me, this book was more of a miss than a hit with me which is a shame as overall it has much to recommend it.

But what of the prehistoric monster I mentioned? Fondly known as Glimmy, he/she/it is mentioned periodically throughout the book and even has a three page epilogue dedicated to it's dying thoughts. The significance? Ah, I'm afraid that somehow passed me by.

* Aristabulus Mudge (the man referred to in my memorable moment)
Ezekiel Felcher,
Asterisk Upton,
Cinnamon Averell Stokes Starkweather Sturgis Graves Peck,
Piddle Smalley (Piddle made even funnier as here in the north east of England to piddle is one of the terms meaning to urinate)

I like eccentric characters and books about "dark secrets" as the synopsis states.I think I might give this book a try since ,as you said it does offer more character-wise.The names are really ...weird... LOL

Hmm...the story itself sounds interesting I suppose, and I don't usually tend to mind that particular story format, so it may be worth a go...but what I really enjoyed was the honesty (as usual). Tis true...reviews are nothing more than our opinions, but each one tends to bring to light a little something different thus sparking the interest of future reader. Thanks for sharing!

TRANSLATE

LITTLE KITTY THE CAT BURGLAR {CHAPTER 1 WRITTEN BY YOURS TRULY}

THE MEMBER OF A VERY SPECIAL TRIBE.

A Geordie lass, rumoured to have been born with a paperback in my hand, I spend my days reading and reviewing books here on Pen and Paper. A lover of hedgehogs as well as cats, I also enjoy writing and receiving letters and am quite the movie buff. My taste in films almost as eclectic as my tastes in novels!

FOLLOW PEN AND PAPER ON GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT

FOLLOW PEN AND PAPER ON GOOGLE+

ADOPTED 26TH APRIL 2014.

A GEORDIE LASS AN' PROUD OF IT.

As Douglas Adams almost said, ‘Far away in the uncharted backwaters of the once unfashionable North-East of England lies an often-unregarded civilisation. Orbiting this at a distance of a few hundred miles is the rest of the British Isles. The life forms inhabiting this area are often thought of as primitive as they still think wearing warm clothing is a pretty sissy thing to do.’

TIS TRUE, I ONLY HAVE A KITCHEN BECAUSE IT CAME WITH THE HOUSE.

THE READING LOG OF YOURS TRULY {APRIL 2009 TO THE PRESENT DAY} .....

CURRENTLY READING: Hemlock Jones & The Angel Of Death by Justin Carroll

LAST READ: Skinwalker by Faith hunter

NEXT: Sitting Murder by A.J. Wright

BOOKS READ AND REVIEWED: 939

PAGES READ AND REVIEWED : 256,366

Please Note: Whilst the rest of this information is correct and up to date, the total of pages read and reviewed is to be updated. TT